Enhanced services provided using communication redirection and processing

ABSTRACT

Processing a communication is disclosed. A first request to establish communication is received at a redirection node from a requesting communication participant. A destination communication participant associated with the request is determined. A communication session in which the requesting communication participant, the redirection node, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time is established, including sending from the redirection node to an equipment associated with the destination communication participant a second request to establish communication between the redirection node and the equipment associated with the destination communication participant. A communication session processing feature not provided with respect to the communication session by a telecommunication service provider associated with a service provider network used to establish and provide the communication session is made available to at least one of the requesting communication participant and the destination communication participant.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/246,535, entitled ENHANCED SERVICES PROVIDED USINGCOMMUNICATION REDIRECTION AND PROCESSING filed Sep. 27, 2011 which isincorporated herein by reference for all purposes, which is acontinuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/173,174,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,059,805, entitled ENHANCED SERVICES PROVIDED USINGCOMMUNICATION REDIRECTION AND PROCESSING filed Jun. 30, 2005 which isincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telecommunication processing has been traditionally limited toprocessing features offered by telecommunications providers. Featuressuch as call forwarding usually require a service agreement with thetelecommunications provider to utilize call processing systemsmaintained by the telecommunications provider. Since telecommunicationsprocessing requires the use of communication devices and/orinfrastructure beyond the control of the user entity, it is difficultfor the user entity to implement new call processing features and/orconfigure or modify existing services and call processing features.Attempts have been made to implement private telecommunications systems,e.g. PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems, but they typically lack theability to extend processing capabilities beyond physically local areas.Also, many desirable processing features have not been available inprevious systems. Therefore, there exists a need to enable new ways fortelecommunications user entities to implement and controltelecommunications processing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of atelecommunications redirection and processing system in a PBXenvironment.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forredirecting a received call.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forhandling a call initiation.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forestablishing a call to a destination call number.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process formonitoring and processing call information.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrates an embodiment of a process forperforming requested actions during a call.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a virtual officeenvironment.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forconnecting to a device associated with a virtual office call station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as aprocess, an apparatus, a system, a composition of matter, a computerreadable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computernetwork wherein program instructions are sent over optical or electroniccommunication links. In this specification, these implementations, orany other form that the invention may take, may be referred to astechniques. A component such as a processor or a memory described asbeing configured to perform a task includes both a general componentthat is temporarily configured to perform the task at a given time or aspecific component that is manufactured to perform the task. In general,the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within thescope of the invention.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention isprovided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate theprinciples of the invention. The invention is described in connectionwith such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to anyembodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims andthe invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications andequivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the followingdescription in order to provide a thorough understanding of theinvention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and theinvention may be practiced according to the claims without some or allof these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technicalmaterial that is known in the technical fields related to the inventionhas not been described in detail so that the invention is notunnecessarily obscured.

Telecommunications processing is disclosed. In some embodiments, all ora portion of calls associated with a call station are monitored and/orredirected. A call station includes any user, system, and/or deviceassociated with the redirecting and/or otherwise processing a call. Forexample, in some embodiments all calls from the call station intended toa destination call participant (i.e., any communication user, system, ordevice) are routed to a call redirection and processing system. Uponreceiving a call, the call redirection and processing system calls thedestination call participant at a configured forwarding number andconferences the received call with the call to the destination callparticipant. Further processing may be performed based on at least aportion of the information communicated during the call. One or moretelecommunications processing can be performed, including callforwarding, call waiting, conference calling, virtual office mapping,call number remapping, voice command processing, call archiving, callmonitoring, compliance processing, and any other call processing.Compliance processing and call redirection is described in greaterdetail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/174,288 entitledTELEPHONIC REDIRECTION AND COMPLIANCE PROCESSING filed Jun. 30, 2005which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of atelecommunications redirection and processing system in a PBXenvironment. Call station 106, call station 108, and redirection andprocessing system 110 are connected to PBX 104. Any number of callstations may exist. External call participant 112, roving call station114, and PBX 104 are connected to external network 102. Any number ofexternal call participants and roving call stations may exist. Externalnetwork 102 may include one or more of the following: a direct orindirect physical communication connection, mobile communicationnetwork, public switched telephone network, PBX phone network,Voice-over-IP network, Internet, intranet, LAN, WAN, and any other formsof connecting two or more systems together. PBX 104 routes calls betweenany devices connected to the PBX and also routes calls to and fromexternal network 102.

Call stations 106, 108, and 114 are associated with redirection andprocessing system 110. Roving call station 114 includes any associatedcall stations not directly connected to PBX 104, including mobiletelephones, telephones at a remote fixed location, computers, pagers,personal digital assistants, and/or any devices able to send and receivetelephonic data. Redirection and processing system 110 redirects and/orprocesses calls to and from the associated call stations. For example, acall to or from one the associated call stations is received at system110. System 110 terminates a new call to an intended destination of thereceived call, and the received call is conferenced with the new call.Since system 110 serves as the redirection point, system 110 is ablemonitor information communicated during the call. Various processingbased on at least a portion of the communicated information during thecall can be performed.

External call participant 112 is one of one or more communicationparticipants that may communicate with a call station. External callparticipant 112 is external to system 110 since the call participant isnot directly associated with system 110, i.e., the externalcommunication participant may not utilize redirection and processingfeatures of system 110 while communicating with a call participant notassociated with system 110. In some embodiments if external callparticipant 112 is communicating with an associated call station, callparticipant 112 is able to utilize at least a portion of the features ofthe redirection and processing system.

In some embodiments the redirection and processing system is notconnected to a PBX. In some embodiments, redirection is performedwithout the assistance of a PBX. Another redirection and routing devicemay be associated with the redirection and processing system or completeredirection and routing functionality may be included in the redirectionand processing system. In some embodiments, the redirection andprocessing system is directly connected to an external network.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forredirecting a received call. This process may be implemented on aredirection and processing system, e.g., system 110 of FIG. 1. At 202, acall is received. The call may be received from any call participant,including an external call participant or a call station. The call maybe received by another system, e.g., PBX, before being received at aredirection and processing system. At 204, the destination of the callis mapped to a call station. In some embodiments, mapping to the callstation includes determining a destination call number and mapping thecall number to a call station. For example, a call participant dials acall number to reach a call station. A call number may be a telephonenumber, extension number, IP address, or any numeric, alphabetic, oralphanumeric identifier. The call is received by the redirection andprocessing system on a line associated with the destination callstation. The received call is mapped to the destination call stationassociated with the line. At 206, it is determined if the call stationshould be forwarded to an away call number. The determination may bemade at least in part by using an away indicator that is preconfiguredor dynamically configured. The away number corresponds to a call numberat which a user associated with the call station may be reached when theuser may be unreachable at the destination call station. The user may bea person or device able to communicate information during the call. Insome embodiments, the away number may be a preconfigured number to whichcalls to a destination call station are forwarded when a user associatedwith the destination call station is not reachable at the destinationcall station. In some embodiments, the away number is configureddynamically, e.g., by a user providing a number to which calls placed toa destination call station with which the user is associated should beforwarded. Any number of away numbers may exist. For example, when theuser associated with the destination call station is away from the callstation, the user indicates to the redirection and processing systemthat the user may be reached at a specified away number. The specifiednumber may be any arbitrary number, or in some embodiments it may beselected from a preconfigured list of away numbers associated with theuser. If at 206 the destination call station is determined to be away,at 208 the received call is connected to the away call number. If thecall station is not determined to be away, the call is connected to thedestination call station line at a call number directly associated withthe destination call station.

In some embodiments, connecting the received call includes establishinga new call to either the away call number or the destination callstation number, as applicable, and conferencing the received call withthe new call. In some embodiments, connecting the received call ishandled at least in part by a system not directly involved in callredirection and processing as described herein, e.g., a PBX system.Connecting a received call as a conference call in some embodiments isused to facilitate monitoring information transferred during the call.In some embodiments after connecting the received call to thedestination, the call is not necessarily monitored. In some embodiments,if the call to the destination call station number is not received by auser, the call is forwarded one or more away numbers associated with thecall station. For example, if no user picks up the call to thedestination call station, successive new calls are made to away numbersassociated with the user until the user picks up the call. If the userdoes not answer at any number associated with the user, the call may beconnected to a voice mail system. In some embodiments, the received callis connected to voice mail without attempting any connections. In someembodiments, Caller ID data is modified to allow the call participantsto be unaware of the communication redirection.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forhandling a call initiation. The process may be implemented on PBX 104 ofFIG. 1. At 302, call initiation data is received from a call station.Call initiation data may include one or more of the following: phoneon/off-hook data, hook flash data, DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency)data, communication handshake data, binary data, voice data, and anydata used to indicate a call station wishes to establish a call. At 304,the call initiator is connected to the redirection system. Theconnection may be established through a call or any communicationsconnection. At 306, a call number associated with a desired destinationof the call is passed to the redirection system. The call number may bepassed as a single or a combination of data encodings, including rotarypulse, DTMF, and binary data. In some embodiments, at 306, a redirectionprompt requests the call initiator for a call number associated with adesired destination. The prompt may be a voice prompt, UI (UserInterface) prompt, communication handshake prompt, or any other form ofindicating to the call initiator that the redirection system is ready toreceive a destination call number.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forestablishing a call to a destination call number. The process may beimplemented on a device associated with call stations 106, 108, or 114of FIG. 1. At 402, a destination call number is received. In someembodiments, the destination number is received from a user associatedwith a call station. At 404, a connection is established to theredirection system. In some embodiments, a call is made to theredirection system to a call number associated with the redirectionsystem. At 406, the received destination call number is passed to theredirection system. At 408, the process waits for a call destinationassociated with the passed call number to be conferenced into theconnection. Once the destination is conferenced, the call initiator'scall to the destination call number has been established. Since theredirection and processing system can monitor the informationtransferred in the call, processing can be performed on at least aportion of the communication. In some embodiments, if an equipmentconfigured to perform the process of FIG. 4 is used to initiate a call,call redirection and processing as described herein may be performedwithout requiring any modification to the operation of a PBX with whichthe equipment is associated, e.g., in an embodiment in which a PBX isused to route calls between the calling equipment and the redirectionsystem, because the PBX merely connects the call as normal to a lineassociated on the PBX with the dialed (or otherwise entered) identifierassociated with the redirection and processing system.

In some embodiments, the redirection and processing system comprises atleast in part the telephone or other equipment used to initiate thecall.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process formonitoring and processing call information. The process may beimplemented on redirection and processing system 110 of FIG. 1. At 502,a call to an intended destination is intercepted. The received call maybe an intercepted call request incoming to a call station or outgoingcall from a call station. Intercepting the call includes receiving acall from a call station or receiving a call intended for a callstation. At 504, the intended destination associated with the receivedcall is conferenced with the intercepted call. Conferencing the callincludes establish a new call to the intended destination and allowingcommunication between the call initiator and the intended destination.The intended destination may be determined from a destination callnumber received in association with intercepting the call or determinedfrom a communication line associated with the intercepted call. At 506,call information transferred during the call is monitored and processed.Information transferred in the call may include voice data (includingconversation content and tone/character/accent/gender of voice),background call noise, any audible data, any binary data, dataassociated with devices of with call participants, data associated withcommunication service providers, data associated with routing devices,and/or data associated with other devices associated with theredirection and processing system. In some embodiments, call informationis optionally monitored and processed.

In some embodiments, call waiting processing is performed. During aoriginal communication session, a call request to at least one of theoriginal communication participants from a new calling party is receivedat the redirection node. The redirection node signals to the destinationcommunication participant that another communication request from a newcalling party has been received. The requested communication participantmay ignore the request or indicate to the redirection node place theoriginal communication on hold and establish communication with the newcalling party. Any indication, including voice command, user command,key command, UI command, DTMF command, on/off hook command, and/or hookflash command may be used to indicate to the redirection node. In someembodiments if the new call request is ignored, the new call requesteris connected to voice mail. In some embodiments, an indication is sentto the redirection node to ignore the new call request. In someembodiments, placing the original communication on hold includes notallowing voice communication between the original communicationparticipants. In some embodiments, a conference call between two or moreoriginal communication participants and the new calling party isestablished.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrates an embodiment of a process forperforming requested actions during a call. The process may beimplemented on redirection and processing system 110 of FIG. 1. In someembodiments, at 506 of FIG. 5, monitoring and processing callinformation includes the process of FIG. 6. At 602, communicationinformation is monitored for command data. In various embodiments,command data includes one or more of voice commands, user command, keycommand, UI command, DTMF command, on/off hook command, hook flashcommand, or any identifier associated with a processing action. Forexample processing features such as call forwarding, conference calling,virtual office mapping, call number remapping, call archiving, callmonitoring, compliance processing, directory assistance retrieval, otherdata retrieval, and any other call processing features can be invoked,modified, configured, or stopped by invoking command data. At 604 ifcommand is not detected, at 602, call information is monitored. At 604if a command data has been detected, at 606, the command data is mappedto a processing action. In some embodiments, an indication a commanddata will be communicated is communicated before a command data iscommunicated. At 608, the mapped processing action is performed, and at602, call information is monitored for command data. In someembodiments, the process of FIG. 6 is implemented on a call redirectionand processing system that is operated and/or controlled by anenterprise or third party vendor associated with a monitored callstation participating in the call, which enables enhanced services suchas the process features described above to be provided without requiringspecial equipment, handling, or service from a telephone or othertelecommunication service provider nor any modification of anyunderlying telephone or telecommunication service provider network.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a virtual officeenvironment. Redirection and processing system 702, external callparticipant 704, virtual office call station 1 (706), virtual officecall station 2 (708), and virtual office call station 3 (710) are allconnected together through communication services network 712. Anynumber of redirection and processing systems, external callparticipants, and virtual office call stations may exist. One or acombination of networks comprise the communication services network,including without limitation, a direct or indirect physical connection,mobile communication network, public switched telephone network, PBXphone network, Voice-over-IP network, Internet, intranet, LAN, WAN,and/or any other forms of connecting two or more systems together.Virtual office call stations include roving and/or non-roving callstations associated with a redirection and processing system.

Often it is desirable to have features associated with a common userentity controlled communications network in call stations not physicallylocated in the same common sub-communications network. PBX systems canoffer functionality such as common phone numbers for multiple callstations, dial by extension, dynamic call number mapping, extensionnumber mapping, call forwarding, and conference calling for callstations directly connected to the PBX. This requires a directconnection to the PBX, and call stations located in physically differentsub-network configurations cannot take advantage of similar features.Virtual private network and similar technologies may be used to providesuch functionality, but normally one must contract with a telephone orother telecommunications service provider for such services, which maybe more expensive and/or less flexible. Also, the telecommunicationsservice provider may not offer all of the functionality a particularuser or set of users may desire, or the provider may not bundle or priceservices in the particular way desired. By allowing all calls to and/orfrom virtual office call stations to be redirected through a redirectionand processing system such as described herein, a “virtual office” canbe setup where call stations physically located in the same or differentsub-networks and/or in the same or different physical or geographiclocations can be virtually connected together through the redirectionand processing system, without necessarily requiring a PBX (or in anyevent not requiring a specially configured PBX) and without necessarilyrequiring enhanced services from a telecommunications service providerused to connect calls or changes to such a service provider'sinfrastructure. For example, when external call participant 704 dials acall number to reach virtual office call station 1 (706), e.g., a“public” number provided and/or advertised as being associated withvirtual office call station 1, the call in some embodiments is receivedby system 702, e.g., because the dialed number is in fact associatedwith the redirection and processing system 702 on the communicationservices network 712. The redirection and processing system 702redirects the call to virtual office call station 1, e.g., byconferencing virtual office station 1 into the original call using anumber associated with station 1 on the communication services network(e.g., a “non-public” number that can be used to terminate a call tostation 1 (706) via the communication services network 712. Since system702 is in a position to potentially monitor all calls associated withthe virtual office call stations, any redirection and processingfunctionality can be offered. Redirection and processing functionalitymay include, PBX-like functionality, common phone numbers for multiplecall stations, dial by extension, dynamic call number mapping, extensionnumber mapping, call forwarding, conference calling, and call hunt groupcalling. In some embodiments call hunt group calling includes reroutinga call to one or more stations in a list of call stations if an intendedrecipient does not answer a call after a certain number of rings or acertain amount of time. Calls may be routed other stations on the listuntil a station answers the call, all of the stations on the list havebeen called, voicemail is called, the call initiator requests voicemail,or the call initiator requests a specific station. The call hunt grouplist may be preconfigured or dynamically configured. The call hunt grouplist may be finite (e.g., the list is traversed once) or circular (e.g.,the list traversed multiple times). The traversal order of the list maybe predefined, dynamically defined, or random. In some embodiments, theprocess of FIG. 4 is implemented in virtual office call stations706-710. In some embodiments, the process of FIG. 5 is implemented inredirection and processing system 702.

For example, in some embodiments, external call participant 704 wouldcomplete a call to virtual office station 1 (706) by dialing a numberthat is associated with station 1 but in fact results in a call beingterminated with the redirection and processing system 702, e.g., becausethe dialed number is in fact associated on communication servicesnetwork 712 with system 702. System 702 recognizes the call as beingassociated with station 1, e.g., by virtue of the line on which the callcame in, and conferences station 1 (706) into the call received bysystem 702 from external call participant 704. By entering a commandduring the call, station 1 (706) or a user associated there with cancause the system 702 to perform such PBX and/or VPN like functions suchas conferencing in or forwarding the received call to another virtualoffice station. In some embodiments the other station to be conferencedin or to which the call is to be forwarded may be indicated using anextension number or other identifier associated with the other station,instead of providing the complete number by which the station is known,e.g., reachable directly, on the communication services network 712. Anynumber of services and features that would otherwise require additionalservices from and/or modification of the provider network of atelecommunications service provider can be provided in an inexpensive,flexible, and locally controlled manner using the techniques describedherein.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process forconnecting to a device associated with a virtual office call station.The process may be implemented on system 702 of FIG. 7. At 802, a callis received. At 804, the call is mapped to a virtual office callstation. In some embodiments, mapping includes determining thedestination virtual office call station and determining a call numberthat can be used to reach the virtual office call station. Determiningthe destination virtual office call station may include determining atwhich line the call was received and/or receiving an extension numberfrom the call initiator. At 806, the call is connected to a deviceassociated with the intended virtual office call station. Connecting thecall may include calling the destination virtual office call station atthe determined call number and allowing communication between the callinitiator and the destination virtual office call station.

The processes shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 and described abovemay be implemented in any suitable way, such as one or more integratedcircuits and/or other device, or as firmware, software, or otherwise.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limitedto the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementingthe invention. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and notrestrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing a communication,comprising: receiving at a redirection node from a requestingcommunication participant a first request to establish communication;determining a destination communication participant associated with therequest; establishing a communication session in which the requestingcommunication participant, the redirection node, and the destinationcommunication participant are participants at the same time, includingby sending from the redirection node to an equipment associated with thedestination communication participant a second request to establishcommunication between the redirection node and the equipment associatedwith the destination communication participant, wherein at least one ofthe communication participants is unaware that the redirection node is aparticipant in the communication session; making available to at leastone of the requesting communication participant and the destinationcommunication participant, after the communication session isestablished in which the requesting communication participant, theredirection node, and the destination communication participant areparticipants at the same time, a communication session processingfeature not provided with respect to the communication session by atelecommunication service provider associated with a service providernetwork used to establish and provide the communication session, andwherein the redirection node is not operated by the telecommunicationservice provider; and detecting a command, mapping the command to aprocessing action associated with the communication session processingfeature, and performing the processing action.
 2. The method as recitedin claim 1, wherein the communication session processing featureincludes one or more features selected from the group consisting of:call forwarding, call waiting, extension dialing, conference calling,call transfer, call number remapping, voice command processing, callarchiving, call monitoring, compliance processing, call recording, callindexing, analyzing a call, controlling a call, blocking a call, andmodifying a call.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein theredirection node is associated with a PBX system.
 4. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the communication participants include anyuser, system, or device involved in the communication.
 5. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the destination communication participant isa call station associated with the redirection node and the redirectionnode is configured to redirect to the call station calls associated withthe call station.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the firstrequest comprises a call placed to a number associated by the requestingcall participant with the destination call participant.
 7. The method asrecited in claim 6, wherein the number is associated by thetelecommunication service provider with the redirection node.
 8. Themethod as recited in claim 6, wherein the number comprises one or moreof the following: a telephone number; an extension number; an IPaddress; and any numeric, alphabetic, or alphanumeric identifier.
 9. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the requesting communicationparticipant is a call station associated with the redirection node andat least selected calls from the call station are redirected to theredirection node.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein therequest to establish communication includes initiating a telephoniccall.
 11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the service providernetwork comprises one or more of the following: a direct or indirectphysical connection, a mobile communication network, a public switchedtelephone network, a phone network, Voice-over-IP network, Internet,intranet, LAN, WAN, and any other forms of connecting two or moresystems together.
 12. The method as recited in claim 1, whereindetermining a destination communication participant associated with therequest includes one or more of the following: determining acommunications line from which the call was received, prompting therequesting call participant for a destination call number, and receivingfrom the requesting communication participant a destination call number.13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein establishing acommunication session includes calling the destination call participantat a call number associated with the destination call participant. 14.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein establishing a call to thedestination communication participant includes forwarding the call toone or more away call numbers.
 15. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the command includes one or more of the following: a voicecommand, a user command, a keypad entry, a command entered using a userinterface, a DTMF command, an on/off hook command, a hook flash command,or any action or data associated with a processing action.
 16. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein performing the processing actionincludes invoking, modifying, configuring, and/or stopping thecommunication session processing feature.
 17. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the communication session processing feature comprisesproviding virtual private exchange processing with respect to two ormore associated communication participants, including one or more of thefollowing: common phone number mapping for multiple call stations,extension dialing, dynamic, call number mapping, extension numbermapping, call forwarding, call waiting, conference calling, and callhunt group calling.
 18. A system for telecommunications processing,comprising: a communications interface configured to receive from arequesting communication participant a first request to establishcommunication; and a processor configured to determine a destinationcommunication participant associated with the request, establish acommunication session in which the requesting communication participant,the system, and the destination communication participant areparticipants at the same time, including by sending from the redirectionnode to an equipment associated with the destination communicationparticipant a second request to establish communication between theredirection node and the equipment associated with the destinationcommunication participant, wherein at least one of the communicationparticipants is unaware that the redirection node is a participant inthe communication session, make available to at least one of therequesting communication participant and the destination communicationparticipant, after the communication session is established in which therequesting communication participant, the redirection node, and thedestination communication participant are participants at the same time,a communication session processing feature not provided with respect tothe communication session by a telecommunication service providerassociated with a service provider network used to establish and providethe communication session, and wherein the redirection node is notoperated by the telecommunication service provider, detect a command,map the command to a processing action associated with the communicationsession processing feature, and perform the processing action.
 19. Thesystem as recited in claim 18, wherein the communication sessionprocessing feature includes one or more features selected from the groupconsisting of: call forwarding, call waiting, extension dialing,conference calling, call transfer, call number remapping, voice commandprocessing, call archiving, call monitoring, compliance processing, callrecording, call indexing, analyzing a call, controlling a call, blockinga call, and modifying a call.
 20. The system as recited in claim 18,wherein the system is associated with a PBX system.
 21. The system asrecited in claim 18, wherein the processor configured to determine adestination communication participant associated with the requestincludes configurations to perform one or more of the following:determine a communications line from which the call was received, promptthe requesting call participant for a destination call number, andreceive from the requesting communication participant a destination callnumber.
 22. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the communicationsession processing feature comprises providing virtual private exchangeprocessing with respect to two or more associated communicationparticipants, including one or more of the following: common phonenumber mapping for multiple call stations, extension dialing, dynamic,call number mapping, extension number mapping, call forwarding, callwaiting, and conference calling.
 23. A computer program product forprocessing a communication, the computer program product being embodiedin a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computerinstructions for: receiving at a redirection node from a requestingcommunication participant a first request to establish communication;determining a destination communication participant associated with therequest; establishing a communication session in which the requestingcommunication participant, the redirection node, and the destinationcommunication participant are participants at the same time, includingby sending from the redirection node to an equipment associated with thedestination communication participant a second request to establishcommunication between the redirection node and the equipment associatedwith the destination communication participant, wherein at least one ofthe communication participants is unaware that the redirection node is aparticipant in the communication session; making available to at leastone of the requesting communication participant and the destinationcommunication participant, after the communication session isestablished in which the requesting communication participant, theredirection node, and the destination communication participant areparticipants at the same time, a communication session processingfeature not provided with respect to the communication session by atelecommunication service provider associated with a service providernetwork used to establish and provide the communication session, andwherein the redirection node is not operated by the telecommunicationservice provider; and detecting a command, mapping the command to aprocessing action associated with the communication session processingfeature, and performing the processing action.
 24. The computer programproduct as recited in claim 23, wherein the communication sessionprocessing feature includes one or more features selected from the groupconsisting of: call forwarding, call waiting, extension dialing,conference calling, call transfer, call number remapping, voice commandprocessing, call archiving, call monitoring, compliance processing, callrecording, call indexing, analyzing a call, controlling a call, blockinga call, and modifying a call.
 25. The computer program product asrecited in claim 23, wherein determining a destination communicationparticipant associated with the request includes one or more of thefollowing: determining a communications line from which the call wasreceived, prompting the requesting call participant for a destinationcall number, and receiving from the requesting communication participanta destination call number.
 26. The computer program product as recitedin claim 23, wherein the communication session processing featurecomprises providing virtual private exchange processing with respect totwo or more associated communication participants, including one or moreof the following: common phone number mapping for multiple callstations, extension dialing, dynamic, call number mapping, extensionnumber mapping, call forwarding, call waiting, and conference calling.